The year 1997 in film involved some significant events.

Events

• Summer - Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
• Star Wars Trilogy 20th Anniversary Special Editions are released.
• Titanic becomes the first film ever to gross $1,000,000,000 at the box office.

Top grossing films

Following the tradition of the English language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the United States and Canada in 1997; because they may have made most of their income in a later year, they may not be the top-grossing films for calendar year. The top ten films of 1997 as of January 26, 2006 (U.S. and Canada), January 26, 2006 (UK), and January 26, 2006 (Australia) are as follows:

In total,41 movies gross than $100,000,000 and 3 movies grossed more than $400,000,000 reaching international blockbuster motion picture status.

For a complete list of 1997's top-grossing films, follow these links:

• Worldwide: http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=1997&p=.htm
  • U.S. & Canada: http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=1997&p=.htm
  • United Kingdom: http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/statistics/boxoffice/
  • Australia: http://www.moviemarshal.com.au/

Awards

Academy Awards:

Best Picture: Titanic - 20th Century Fox, Lightstorm Entertainment, Paramount Pictures

Best Director: James Cameron - Titanic

Best Actor: Jack Nicholson - As Good as It Gets

Best Actress: Helen Hunt - As Good as It Gets

Best Supporting Actor: Robin Williams - Good Will Hunting

Best Supporting Actress: Kim Basinger - L.A. Confidential

Best Foreign Language Film: Character (Karakter), directed by Mike van Diem, Netherlands / Belgium

Golden Globe Awards:

Drama:

Best Picture: Titanic

Best Actor: Peter Fonda - Ulee's Gold

Best Actress: Judi Dench - Mrs. Brown

Musical or comedy:

Best Picture: As Good as It Gets

Best Actor: Jack Nicholson - As Good as It Gets

Best Actress: Helen Hunt - As Good as It Gets

Other

Best Director: James Cameron - Titanic

Best Foreign Language Film: Ma vie en rose (My Life in Pink), France / Belgium / U.K.

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):

Taste of Cherry (??? ?????, Ta'm-e gilass), directed by Abbas Kiarostami, Iran / France

The Eel (???, Unagi), directed by Shohei Imamura, Japan

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):

Hana-bi (Fireworks), directed by Takeshi Kitano, Japan

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

The People vs. Larry Flynt, directed by Milo? Forman, Canada / United States

Films released in 1997

• Absolute Power, starring and directed by Clint Eastwood
• Addicted to Love
• Air Force One
• The Alarmist
• Alien: Resurrection
• All Over Me
• Amistad
• An American Werewolf in Paris
• Anaconda
• Anastasia, directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman
• The Apostle
• As Good as It Gets - Golden Globe Award for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy)
• The Assignment
• Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, directed by Jay Roach
• Batman & Robin
• Bean, starring Rowan Atkinson, directed by Mel Smith
• Beverly Hills Ninja
• Boogie Nights
• Booty Call
• The Boxer
• Breakdown, starring Kurt Russell
• Buddy
• The Butcher Boy, directed by Neil Jordan
• Buud Yam
• Campfire Tales
• Cats Don't Dance, directed by Mark Dindal, In Memory Of Gene Kelly
• Character (Karakter) - Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• Chasing Amy, directed by Kevin Smith
• City of Industry
• Clockwatchers
• Commandments, starring Courteney Cox
• Con Air
• Conspiracy Theory, starring Mel Gibson and directed by Richard Donner
• Contact, starring Jodie Foster and directed by Robert Zemeckis
• Cop Land
• Cube
• Dakan (Destiny) (Guinea)
• Dangerous Ground
• Dante's Peak
• Deconstructing Harry
• The Devil's Advocate
• The Devil's Own
• Dogtown
• Donnie Brasco
• Double Team
• The Edge, starring Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin
• The Eel - Palme d'Or award
• The End of Evangelion (July 19 - Japan)
• Evangelion: Death and Rebirth (Japan)
• Event Horizon, starring Laurence Fishburne
• Eve's Bayou, starring Lynn Whitfield and Samuel L. Jackson
• Excess Baggage
• Face
• Face/Off
• Fathers' Day, starring Robin Williams and Billy Crystal
• Fierce Creatures
• FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue
• The Fifth Element, directed by Luc Besson
• Fire Down Below
• Flubber, starring Robin Williams, Christopher McDonald and Clancy Brown, voices by Jodi Benson, directed by Les Mayfield
• Fools Rush In
• Free Willy 3: The Rescue, directed by Sam Pillsbury
• The Full Monty
• The Game, starring Michael Douglas and directed by David Fincher
• Gang Related
• Gattaca
• George of the Jungle, starring Brendan Fraser, Leslie Mann, Thomas Haden Church, Richard Roundtree, Holland Taylor and Kelly Miller, voices by John Cleese, based on the characters by Jay Ward, directed by Sam Weisman
• Ghosts
• Gone Fishin'
• Goodbye America
• Good Will Hunting
• Gridlock'd
• Grosse Pointe Blank
• Hamam
• Hana-bi (Fireworks) - Palme d'Or award
• Hercules
• Hold You Tight
• Home Alone 3
• Hoodlum
• Hurricane Streets
• I Know What You Did Last Summer
• The Ice Storm
• In & Out
• Into Thin Air -(film only mentioned in article)
• Inventing the Abbotts
• The Jackal, starring Bruce Willis
• Jackie Brown, directed by Quentin Tarantino
• Jackie Chan's First Strike
• Jungle 2 Jungle
• Kini and Adams
• Kiss the Girls
• Kull the Conqueror
• Kundun, directed by Martin Scorsese
• L.A. Confidential
• Lawn Dogs
• Lewis and Clark and George
• Liar Liar
• A Life Less Ordinary
• Lost Highway
• The Lost World: Jurassic Park
• Love and Death on Long Island
• Love Jones
• Ma vie en rose (My Life in Pink) - Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• The Man Who Knew Too Little
• Masterminds
• The Matchmaker
• Meet Wally Sparks
• Men in Black
• Metro
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
• Mimic
• Money Talks
• Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
• Most Wanted
• Mousehunt
• Murder at 1600
• My Best Friend's Wedding
• Night Falls on Manhattan
• Nothing to Lose
• Nowhere
• 187
• Operation Condor
• Out to Sea, starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon
• The Peacemaker
• Picture Perfect
• Pippi Longstocking
• Playing God
• The Postman, starring and directed by Kevin Costner
• Pride Divide
• Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime) (Japan)
• Private Parts
• The Rainmaker
• Red Corner
• The Relic
• A River Made to Drown In
• RocketMan
• Romy and Michele's High School Reunion
• Rosewood, directed by John Singleton
• The Saint, starring Val Kilmer
• Scream 2
• Selena
• Seven Years in Tibet
• She's So Lovely
• The Sixth Man
• Soul Food
• Space Marines
• Spaceman
• Spawn
• Speed 2: Cruise Control
• Spiceworld
• Star Wars Trilogy (Special Edition)
• Starship Troopers
• Steel
• Strawberry Fields
• Suicide Kings
• Sunday
• Super Speedway
• The Sweet Hereafter
• Taste of Cherry - Palme d'Or award
• That Old Feeling
• Titanic - Academy and Golden Globe (drama) Awards for Best Picture
• Tomorrow Never Dies
• Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie
• Under the Lighthouse Dancing
• Vegas Vacation
• Volcano starring Tommy Lee Jones
• Wag the Dog
• Waiting for Guffman
• Wild America
• The Wrong Guy
• Year of the Horse

Births

• January 24 - Jonah Bobo, American actor

Deaths

• January 10 - Sheldon Leonard, producer, actor, director
• January 18 - Diana Lewis, actress
• February 11 - Don Porter, actor
• March 15 - Gail Davis, actress
• May 5 - Walter Gotell, actor
• June 14 - Richard Jaeckel, actor
• July 1 - Robert Mitchum, actor
• July 2 - James Stewart, actor
• July 23 ? David Warbeck, actor
• August 27 - Brandon Tartikoff, studio executive
• September 9 - Burgess Meredith, actor
• September 17 - Red Skelton, actor
• September 21 - Jennifer Holt, actress
• October 12 - John Denver, singer/songwriter, poet, actor
• October 24 - Don Messick, actor
• December 18 - Chris Farley, comedian, actor
• December 24 - Toshiro Mifune, actor
• December 31 - Billie Dove, actress

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